Local Sports

WATERBURY, CT-- 15 FEBRUARY 2008--021508JS03-Crosby's B.J. Monteiro (23) drives to the basket during their 78-75 win over Torrington Friday at Crosby High School in Waterbury. Jim Shannon/Republican-American

WATERBURY — B.J. Monteiro doesn't really have a place that he calls home anymore. Rather, his homes are measured by degrees.

Waterbury is labeled the "first" home by the former Crosby High basketball standout.

For the moment, Belgium is his second home. He spent last season playing professionally there. Pittsburgh, where he spent four years playing for Duquesne, is home No. 3.

On Wednesday night, Monteiro was back to his true home, playing on the court of the Crosby Palace for the first time since 2008 when he was a senior.

"It's always great coming back here," Monteiro said after scoring a team-high 23 points in Fairview Capital's 101-83 victory over Cambyland in the Greater Hartford Pro-Am. "I haven't played here since I was in high school. It brings back a lot of memories looking at all the banners and stuff."

Monteiro doesn't have a bad life at the moment. Basketball is how he makes his living, and doing it in Belgium is not a bad way to go.

He played for Liege Basket following his graduation from Duquesne, averaging 9.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. The basketball language is one he can speak fluidly.

French, the most common language in the Liege area, is another matter. He said he can understand a decent amount of French, at least enough to get by, but can't speak much.

"I do a lot of pointing," Monteiro joked.

Belgium can be a confusing place because of the languages. Dutch and French are the most common languages, though a small percentage of Belgium's citizens also count German as their first language. But all of that is less a barrier than it is an experience.

"Playing overseas takes a lot getting used to," he said. "You have to be strong-minded to do it. But I got to see a lot of countries and play a lot of different styles of basketball. I'm doing what I love to do. I can't complain at all."

Monteiro's career at Duquesne, where he played with former Crosby teammate Damian Saunders, borders on outstanding.

He finished 23rd at the Dukes' scoring list with 1,227 points, third in games played (121) and fifth in blocks (80), which says something about the 6-foot-5 swingman's athletic ability.

He led the Dukes in scoring (15 ppg) and rebounding (5.4) in his senior season. On Wednesday night, he showed the same tendency to play around the hoop that has become a staple of his game. He scored 14 of his points in the fourth quarter, including a highly athletic reverse dunk that appeared effortless.

Monteiro will spend his brief time in Waterbury working on his game and deciding between a number of contract offers he received from teams overseas. His second home really is more like his main home.

"I'm overseas 10 months out of the year," Monteiro said. "That's kind of like my home, but Waterbury will always be my first home even though I'm mostly overseas or in Pittsburgh. It's a great experience to come out here and play in Waterbury.

"All I want to do is play and I'm blessed to be able to do that as my work. I have my degree in marketing but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Right now, I'm just focusing on basketball."

And learning to speak some French. And Dutch. And German.

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